Grantee Research Project Results

2022 Progress Report: Integrated Communication and Intervention Strategies to Reduce Exposure to Prescribed Wildland Fire Emissions in Schools, Schoolchildren and Communities

EPA Grant Number: R840246
Title: Integrated Communication and Intervention Strategies to Reduce Exposure to Prescribed Wildland Fire Emissions in Schools, Schoolchildren and Communities
Investigators: Russell, Armistead G. , Odman, Mehmet Talat , Ng, Nga Lee , Vaidyanathan, Ambarish
Institution: Georgia Institute of Technology , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
EPA Project Officer: Chung, Serena
Project Period: September 1, 2021 through May 8, 2025
Project Period Covered by this Report: September 1, 2021 through August 31,2022
Project Amount: $1,000,000
RFA: Interventions and Communication Strategies to Reduce Health Risks of Wildland Fire Smoke Exposures (2021) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Watersheds , Endocrine Disruptors , Environmental Engineering , Air Quality and Air Toxics , Wildfires

Objective:

Prescribed burning air pollution forecasting, on-site low-cost monitoring and air cleaning, and coordinated communication approaches will be employed and assessed for their effectiveness at reducing exposures of schoolchildren in southern Georgia and Alabama to elevated levels of PM_2.5 and other pollutants. This will involve addressing three hypotheses: 1) An integrated strategy containing both interventions and communications can reduce wildland fire pollution exposure in children and youth; 2) Targeted intervention, e.g., classroom-based air cleaning, can be used to effectively reduce exposures of school community members, including students, to wildland fire burn emissions; and 3) Wildland fire impact forecasting can be used to reduce exposures, both by adjusting the timing of burn activities that would lead to large population exposures and by alerting and providing guidance to potentially impacted areas in advance.

Progress Summary:

Research Conducted and Results Generated:

Development and submission of Quality Assurance Plan (QAPP), Quality Management Plan (QMP) and initial IRB: The GT PI and co-PIs teamed with CEISMC to develop and submit the necessary plans and IRB to the EPA, as well as worked with the East Columbus Magnet Academy (the location of the initial school sampling) to develop their IRB. As usual, this involved multiple iterations, and was made more difficult by a change in a major change in personnel (Dr. Watts Hull changed positions, so her role has been redistributed to other research team members and increased participation of CEISMC staff resulted). The change of personnel also led to the development of a second IRB submitted to Georgia Tech (which was also approved).
Teaming with East Columbus Magnet Academy (ECMA):Building on the potential schools identified in the original proposal, the GT team worked with ECMA for the initial year’s deployment of monitors in the school. Multiple meetings were held with School officials and teachers, as well as GT facilitating a meeting between ECMA, the US Forest Service and the Georgia Forestry Commission to discuss prescribed burning impacts and uses. Discussions with ECMA led to the initial instrument deployment plan.
Deploment of Air Quality Monitors to ECMA: As planned, we deployed PurpleAir and QuantAQ monitors to ECMA to capture indoor and outdoor concentrations in and around the school. Data from the initial deployments has been gathered and analyzed.
Prescribed Fire Impact Forecasting: We have been improving our prescribed fire forecasting system, including assessing the use of WRF-Fire and different plume height routines, and how to better forecast the location and size of fires. This system was employed to provide fire impact forecasts during the first deployments.

Future Activities:

Planned future activities include: Continued collection of air quality data from ECMA; Deployment of other PurpleAir and QuantAQ monitors at other schools in the Muscogee County School District; Further improvements to the fire forecasting system, including improved plume rise modeling and how the plume is integrated from the sub-scale model to CMAQ; Work further on the Memorandum of Understanding between Georgia Tech and the Muscogee County School District; Provide teaching vignettes to science classes at the schools where sampling is occurring and continuing to analyze data, prepare manuscripts, and present results at meetings.

Supplemental Keywords:

Prescribed burning; Fire plumes; Wildland fire, Intervention, Communication, Air Quality, Pollution Control, Forecasting.

Relevant Websites:

None at this time

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.